Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting Recipe

Let me start by saying, I’m a boxed cake kind of gal! Actually when it comes to cakes and brownies, I rarely make ’em from scratch. A boxed mix is just too easy! After seeing this Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting from Bon Appetit (May 2009), I thought I would venture outside of my comfortable cake mix box and go for it. I am so glad that I did because this is the best cake I have ever made! Seriously, when I served it to my family, they all thought it tasted better than what you buy at a bakery. Plus, even though it requires quite a few ingredients, it really isn’t all that hard to make!

The cake was moist and perfect and the frosting was deeee-licious! I’m not normally good at making homemade frosting either. I almost always use a can because normally most frosting recipes turn out like pure sugar and just don’t taste good. Not this one! Seriously… BEST. CAKE. and FROSTING. EVER. It’s like strawberry shortcake but better. I just can’t say enough about this recipe.

Plus, it is the perfect Spring event or Easter cake! I made it for a family event this past weekend and it was a hit with everyone! If you like strawberries, you will LOVE this cake!

Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Frosting –

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature (I used low-fat)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam

3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

Cake –

3 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

7 large eggs

2 TBSP vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream (I used low fat)

6 TBSP plus 1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam

2 1/4 lbs strawberries, hulled, sliced (about 6 cups), divided

MAKE THE FROSTING

1) Put a small/medium bowl in the freezer to chill. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in sugar, then jam. Remove that chilled bowl from the freezer and beat cream in that chilled bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into frosting. Cover; chill for a couple of hours until it’s firm enough to spread. (If you are in a hurry, you could put the frosting in the freezer to chill quickly.)

MAKE THE CAKE

2) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides. (I used 10″ cheesecake pans – aka springform pans – because they were the only round pans I had with high enough sides and they worked great!) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add sour cream, and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in three additions, beating to blend after each addition. Divide batter into prepared pans.

2) Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pans, then turn cakes out onto a rack to cool completely. I threw the two cake layers in the freezer for about an hour to make the cake assembly easier.

3) Using a serrated knife, divide each layer in half horizontally. Place one half, cake side down, on a cake plate.

4) Spread 3 TBSP of strawberry jam over the cake, then spread 3/4 c of the frosting over the jam. Arrange 3/4 c of the sliced strawberries on top of the frosting in a single layer. Repeat two more times with cake layer, jam, frosting, and strawberries.

5) Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread two cups of frosting over the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer, then frost with remaining frosting. Stir remaining jam to loosen, then spoon teaspoonfuls onto the top and sides of the cake. Use the back of a spoon to swirl jam decoratively into the frosting. This recipe makes a very big 4-layer cake that will feed a lot of people. It says it has 12 servings but I definitely think it feeds even more!

FROSTING: Put a small/medium bowl in the freezer to chill. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in sugar, then jam. Remove that chilled bowl from the freezer and beat cream in that chilled bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into frosting. Cover; chill for a couple of hours until it's firm enough to spread. (If you are in a hurry, you could put the frosting in the freezer to chill quickly.)

CAKE: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides. (I used 10" cheesecake pans - aka springform pans - because they were the only round pans I had with high enough sides and they worked great!) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add sour cream, and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in three additions, beating to blend after each addition. Divide batter into prepared pans.

Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pans, then turn cakes out onto a rack to cool completely. I threw the two cake layers in the freezer for about an hour to make the cake assembly easier.

Using a serrated knife, divide each layer in half horizontally. Place one half, cake side down, on a cake plate.

Spread 3 TBSP of strawberry jam over the cake, then spread ¾ c of the frosting over the jam. Arrange ¾ c of the sliced strawberries on top of the frosting in a single layer. Repeat two more times with cake layer, jam, frosting, and strawberries.

Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread two cups of frosting over the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer, then frost with remaining frosting. Stir remaining jam to loosen, then spoon teaspoonfuls onto the top and sides of the cake. Use the back of a spoon to swirl jam decoratively into the frosting. This recipe makes a very big 4-layer cake that will feed a lot of people. It says it has 12 servings but I definitely think it feeds even more!

Baby Gizmo founder Hollie Schultz is the proud mom of three adorable kids. This certified CPS (Child Passenger Safety) Tech and baby gear expert is the host of the Baby Gizmo video reviews giving moms the inside look at baby products before they purchase them. Hollie is also the co-author of The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide. A former resident of Los Angeles, she and her family now live in North Carolina where she is having a blast designing and decorating her new home.

I found this recipe a few years ago and I have been making it for every family holiday since. My mom LOVES it and demands that I make it every Easter. The cake is actually known as “Britt’s Easter cake” in the family now. It is fabulous! The only thing I do differently is use just enough powdered sugar to give the icing good consistency…Only because I love to taste the tartness in cream cheese icings. But that is a personal preference, the recipe truly is perfect. Doesn’t need tweaking at all.

Just finished this cake for a daughters birthday. It was perfect. I didn’t have two inch deep pans so I actually split the batter into three 9″ 1/2″ inches and it turned out perfect. I now also have a new fruit dip that my husband loves from the left over frosting. Thank you for posting this and sharing. I really appreciated the effort and time you put into this just to share with us.

I just made this for my baby girl’s first birthday. It turned out fantastic! I simplified it a bit by using regular stabilized whipped cream frosting, skipping the jam, and not slicing the cakes in half (so I had two layers instead of four, and just strawberries and whipped cream in the middle), and then used strawberries and frosting on top to decorate it to look like a strawberry patch. The cake was delicious and easy to make, and I could see it going well with a lot of different kinds of fruit. Maybe next time I’ll try it with your frosting recipe. It’s definitely a keeper!

I made this for my daughter’s 24th birthday. She wanted a “Strawberry Vanilla cake”, so I found your recipe on line. I have to believe that this is one of the best cakes I have ever made! The cake is delicious – just dense enough to hold the strawberries, frosting, and layers. I did not have the larger cake pans, so I made it with three 9 inch pans. I sliced each one in half, giving me a 6 layer cake! It was beautiful! The icing is yummy – not overly sweet, but with a creamy texture much like thick yogurt. I cannot recommend this recipe more highly! YUMMY!

Your writing is fine and gives food for thought. I hope that Ill have far more time to read your articles . Regards. I wish you that you regularly publish new texts and invite you to greet me
Knockoff Ray Ban Aviator Sunglasses http://www.forestjournal.jp/knockoff.php?pid=126

Ur cake looks amazing. I am gonna try it for my husbands bday day after tom. I have a question though- since this is a huge cake, can i just make one pan and juz have two layers? Could you please advise on how correctly measure the ingredients if am only making one?
Thanks

This cake is divine. I did not have problems with the frosting however, you do need to work fast. I just made three layers instead of splitting the two into four layers. Also I did not swirl any jam into the frosting. I took the easy way! It’s best to let it sit out of fridge at least 10-15 minutes before serving. Fabulous.

What a great recipe! My son (3) wanted to make a “strawberry cake” so I showed him pics and he chose this one. I actually made a sponge 1/3 the size called for here and just did 2 layers (since I didn’t need a huge cake). I decided sponge because i thought it would make the cake lighter and less rich. I love the icing recipe. I put cream, strawberries and jam between the layers and just used the icing on the outside. I didn’t have any probs with the icing being purple but am in Australia so maybe the jams here are different. I did add one drop of pink colouring to the icing because it wasn’t very pink after adding the jam. I didn’t have any problems with the icing being too soft. I made 1/3 the icing in the recipe above and had plenty and some left after completely covering a 22cm by 5cm round cake.

I just made this for Mother’s Day yesterday, and if you follow the directions exactly as written, your cake with be a success!! It was a MAJOR hit, espeically with how fresh the strawberries were! I got great feedback from everyone and my mother loved it!! Really appreciate this recipe, I am definitely going to be making this again! Also, I left the icing in overnight and it made a great difference, it seemed to get thicker and easier to spread! Just a little tip! Thanks again 🙂

Saw the picture of this and knew it’d be appetizing!! I made it for my husbands birthday and it turned out great! Didn’t have any problems with the frosting….I didn’t really know what it meant for whipping cream to peak, but mixed with mixer for awhile. Maybe put an estimated time in the directions? The cake was definitely a hit!
My question is about storage: Do you leave it out or put in fridge? Thinking fridge since cream cheese is in the frosting??
Thanks for sharing!

I remember this cake from a while ago and added it to my file. It is a real showstopper! I have yet to make it. I have made strawberry frosting before with fresh strawberries–the first time it turned out great, but then other times it was way to thin–I don’t know what I did different!

This looks great. Next time try between the layers a product that you get in the produce area called Marie’s glaze for strawberries.Instead of the frosting between the layers you put a layer of the glaze then your sliced strawberries then your next cake layer. We had a cake from a bakery like this and it was VERY tasty.
I was going to make one of these next week myself. Happy baking.
Barb

With the whipped frosting and the fresh strawberries, it only looks presentable for about 2 days. You can still eat it for 3-4 days but I would definitely make it the night before the event to have the best presentation possible. 🙂

I’ve been waiting for fresh strawberry season to make this. And tonight I did! Just some suggestions. I spent 3 hours finishing up to step #2. I would divide step #2 into several steps. Also, I needed the BIGGEST bowls in my kitchen so “large” and “medium” bowls didn’t really work. It’s in the oven now. As long as it took, it BETTER BE GOOD! LOL!!!!

I made this cake for my mom’s birthday this weekend – it was my first made from scratch cake as well as my first layer cake (I had to start out by buying cake pans.) It was time consuming but not difficult, didn’t come out looking a all like the pictures but was enjoyed by all.

It looked great when I put it together Friday evening. Not too bad when 12 of us ate it Saturday afternoon, leaving half of it left for Sunday morning. However by that point it wasn’t looking too appetizing, the strawberries made the frosting extra runny and everything kind of slid off the cake, taking crumbs with it – it was a bit of a sludgy mess.

The answer to that is a layered dessert. I found some red sugar cookies in the freezer and crumbled them up for color, added a layer of lemon pudding, cut the cake into bite sized pieces, stirred the frosting / crumbs up and spooned it on top. Then repeated the layers. I then used up the remaining heavy cream to make a whipped topping, added a few more fresh strawberries to the top and poof – had a very appealing looking dessert that is now completely gone.

Oh and one more thing, I baked it in a bundt pan and cut three layers and it worked perfectly! Making sure that the cake has completely cooled, or even chilled makes spreading the frosting even easier.

Made this for a baby shower yesterday since the mom to be wanted strawberry shortcake. Though I saw that she had pinned this recipe, so I thought I’d surprise her with it.

I followed the recipe exactly, which were very clear and easy. I had no problems with the frosting being runny as others commented. I think the key is really to keep the bowl, wisk cold and to stop if it starts to feel too soft and put it back into the freezer a few minutes to firm it up to spread.

Mine did not come out near as pretty as the pictures but BOY was it a hit! I smiled to myself as I heard the positive comments…the exact comments I’d read on here that other “eaters” had stated! Very rich, sweet and a nice balance, like a strawberry shortcake cheesecake vanilla cake. I thought maybe the vanilla, which was pure and not imitation was a tad strong, and I could have used a little less, but it was VERY good and not a crumb left. Two thumbs up from the crowd, and I will put this in my recipe box. THANK YOU for a new, fun and delicious experience!

Sponge cakes are thought to be the first of the non-yeast-based cakes and rely primarily on trapped air in a protein matrix (generally of beaten eggs) to provide leavening, sometimes with a bit of baking powder or other chemical leaven added as insurance. Such cakes include the Italian/Jewish pan di Spagna and the French Génoise. Highly decorated sponge cakes with lavish toppings are sometimes called gateau; the French word for cake.:

Finally made this last night and boy is it sweet! But Good!! LOL. I am definitely going to make this again soon, but this time I’m gonna try to lighten the frosting a little (maybe fold some whipped cream into it, and instead of the jam I’m gonna try to puree fresh strawberries into the frosting to add a little “fresher” taste to it.
Don’t get me wrong though…The whole thing is delicious just as it is!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

My Pop-pop was a baker from the late 20’s on. this was his specialty. the last one he made was for a side cake at my wedding in 2002. He was in his early 90’s. This brought a happy tear to my eye and i look forward to trying to replicate it. Thanks,

i suggest for the icing that you whip the whipping cream by itself in a bowl over ice until peaks form to where it looks like big fluffy clouds. for faster results use an electric beater. then fold into the other mixtures. this way it stays sturdy and it doesn’t melt.

HELP!!!!! I just baked this Cale and it didn’t raise to top of pan, and was to brown in 45min. I need it for GSons B/D tomorrow, what could I have done??? Had unsalt butter at rm. temp.,but it didn’t want to cream,any suggestions???I used 9″ x2″ layer pans didn’t raise any where near top.

HELP!!!!! I just baked this Cale and it didn’t raise to top of pan, and was to brown in 45min. I need it for GSons B/D tomorrow, what could I have done??? Had urns utter and rm. temp.,but it didn’t want to cream,any suggestions???

Hi!
I just made this, and I was wondering if you know of any reason why my cakes would turn out to be very small. Compared to the picture of yours, mine are probably about half that height. I’m concerned about cutting them in half because I think they may be way to thin in layers. This is my first time baking so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I tried to make this cake yesterday (not the frosting or the strawberries. I wanted to taste the bread first) and the crust came out super hard. The taste wasn’t that great. I feel so sad because I followed every step and it was a dissapointment. I was so embarrased with the final product.

Worse cake I ever made….it so much time to make,that part was fun. But it was such a disappointment when I took a bite. Sorry but the box cake I made last week so much better. This one will be thrown out!

I showed this recipe to my boyfriend and he immediately suggested that I make this. So I went to the store and got all the ingredients that I didn’t already have..This cake is a bit of work but it was so worth it in the end. It was very delicious. I didn’t cook this until late at night so I was I was running out of patients with waiting and I assembled before the cakes cooled, so the frosting didn’t stick to the sides but it still turned out very well. We thought it tasted better if its cold but everybodys preferences are different. I took the left overs to work and it turns out that I might need to make it again–Thanks for the recipe!

I’ve made a lot of cream cheese frostings and this one is totally my new favorite. I think as long as you get your whipping cream whipped correctly it will turn out perfect. Mine wasn’t runny at all. To die for!

I made this cake for a potluck at church today. It did take a lot of work, but it was totally worth it. I was overwhelmed by all the compliments i recieved. i wll be keeping this recipe! just a note…. i didn’t have pans with two inch sides, so instead of making two cakes and cutting them in half to make four layers, i just used regular 9-inch cake pans and divided the batter into four equal amounts. i made two layers then washed/dried the pans and made two more. it worked fine for me. thanks for the recipe!

It’s closer to a pound cake than an angel food cake. It doesn’t taste like pound cake but more a traditional yellow or vanilla cake. Very similar to a vanilla cake that you buy from a bakery if that makes sense.

Hi,
I saw your recipe and I m about to make it.My daughters birthdays are in a month!Although it looks great I want to try it before I serve it.For my oldest I ll make the vanilla-strawberries and for my youngest the ultimate death chocolate.Can I add strawberries to the chocolate cake?Thanks again.

You could totally add strawberries to the chocolate cake but strawberries never last that long. The strawberries may get mushy after a day. If you are going to eat the entire cake soon after making (about a day!) I say go for it.

Ok, made the cake following every direction. But I have to say, the frosting was a bit disappointing. The cake, strawberries, etc., was insanely good. But the frosting was far too runny and the taste just didn’t match up to my expectations. I have made a cream cheese frosting, a buttercream frosting and a homemade whipped cream frosting for a cake. And this recipe had all three combined. It seemed a bit strange to me, but I gave it a shot. The taste was disappointing and the texture even moreso. Far too runny. I may have been doable in the first two steps (before adding the whipped cream which made it REALLY runny), but I am not even sure about the taste at that point. But I will probably keep this recipe, but just do a traditional buttercream frosting OR a cream cheese frosting…not both. The cake was great, but the frosting made the cake look like my 6 year old had made it. But it was an impressive presentation, that’s for sure! 🙂

Hey! As I posted on fb, this is my “dream cake!” Thankfully, my 5 year old saw the picture and said he wanted me to make this for his birthday cake! Yesss! Now I have an excuse to make it! Two questions before I embark on this beauty: 1) soft peaks…How long is that to whip for? I’ve made homemade whipped cream a lot, but I am never sure of the difference b/n soft and stiff peaks. How do you know when to stop beating it? I am nervous to do it too little or too much… 🙂 2) Is your frosting enough? I always feel as if I could double the frosting (homemade) on recipes…it seems to never cover the middle and the outside adequately. Do you feel confident with this amount? Do I need to double or 1.5 it?

I think there is a perfect amount of frosting in the recipe. I like frosting and I definitely think there was just the right amount with this one. Regarding the soft peaks, I don’t think you could over beat it. If you get to stiff peaks, it will be totally fine. 🙂

Thank you for posting this recipe!! I made it for my boyfriend’s birthday and everyone loved it, it’s a beautiful batter and presentation. In this age of cake mixes and cheap bakery cakes from big box stores (not the worst thing, but homemade makes a difference), it’s nice to make, and see, a homemade cake. I baked the cakes and made the frosting the day before and refrigerated, then assembled the next morning. This made the frosting firm enough to apply a crumb coat, back to the refrigerator for an hour then the rest of the frosting was applied. The leftovers are still good on the 3rd day, FYI, from what I hear. I’m vegan so I didn’t taste it while making it or afterwards, so it was risky for me to try this recipe–your description and all the feedback gave me the confidence to go for it. So from my perspective, the batter and frosting came together very nicely, beautiful and creamy smooth, and the cake smelled wonderful, was easy to cut and assemble.

Hi! I saw this and had to try it—it’s phenomenal!! My husband works at a college and so we always have students over and they are always hungry! So, I attempted this and it was loved by everyone!!! We are not big cake eaters at all but this is one that I will be making again!! Thanks!

There is a “print friendly” button at the top of the post. Hit that button and it will open up a screen to help you print it. You can even delete things you don’t want to print such as the photos by clicking on the portion of the post.

I loved making this cake. It was my first attempt at a homemade cake and it turned out perfectly. I substituted (2) vanilla beans for the extract to give it a stronger vanilla flavoring, plus I like the little black speckles the beans add. As for the liquid missing from not using extract. After removing the seeds I boiled the the beans in a 1/4C of water then used 2 tablespoons of that vanilla water to make sure the lack of liquid wouldn’t affect the cake. The cake was well received to say the least 🙂

My granny always make me a birthday cake similar to this. You can use frozen strawberries and a portion of their juice instead of the jam. Then we put it into the freezer and eat it frozen. Mr favorite cake ever

Sounds delicious and I will have to make it soon…think the low fat things will be regular in my cake though…. After 7 cubes of butter and 7 cups of sugar not really concerned about a few less grams of fat 😉

Absolutely, you can do it with just layers. The recipe calls to cut the layers in half so that it can include more frosting and strawberries but you certainly don’t have to do it. It’s really delicious and i plan to make it again for Easter next weekend! 🙂 – Hollie

I guess you could but it probably wouldn’t taste the same. The homemade icing on this recipe is really, really good!! I’m not sure how many cups of frosting the recipe makes. I’ll have to measure next time I make it. – Hollie

Yes, you can make it the day before but I would suggest serving it within a day or two of making. It doesn’t last that long because of the fresh strawberries inside. I usually make it the night before I want to serve it. You could make all the ingredients the night before and do the assembling the morning of to have the best result! 🙂

Hi Penny! Regarding the color, I spread the jam on the outside frosting very lightly and carefully as not to mix it too much which would then turn it all pink or purple. Regarding the frosting being so thin, did you make sure to freeze that bowl for the whipping cream and then beat until the soft peaks form? My frosting was a bit thin when I was done making it at first so I threw it back in the freezer for a bit to harden it up a bit. It’s definitely a thinner frosting than a canned frosting which most people are used to. I would suggest chilling the frosting in the freezer to make it more manageable when icing the sides of the cake. -Hollie